Cleaning Silver Collectors Spoons- The Final Reveal

I know I speculate through fiction here on most days... "What would happen if I stuck my characters on a planet with sentient wind?" Most of the time speculation is done in the real world though. For example... "What would these look like if I could remove this tarnish?" Questions like these can lead you on a quest, not only to find answers, but to discover some new things along the way as well!

Tuesday of this past week I told you that I was busy cleaning a set of collectible spoons that had been passed down to me from my mom. Here are some of the before and after pictures:

Spoon before cleaning

Kinda hard to see all that detail under the tarnish huh.

 

 AND... Now For The Clean Reveal!

Its kinda hard to see on this rack- but I assure you they are all just as clean, even though the picture makes some of them still look tarnished. Here's the last rack:

The top row is clean in this picture.

  

All completely clean and tarnish free!

There were many of these spoons that I had never seen clean before, being that they were my mothers they have been there for most of my life. Many of them had details hidden under the tarnish that I never even knew existed! It was really cool seeing them come to sparkling life again!

I found some spoons in this collection that I even remember giving to mom years ago.

For those of you who have silver- or silver plated items you are wanting to clean, here is some advice:

• First, yes you can polish them with toothpaste but it takes twice as long and doesn't come out half as shinny. (this was one of my first discoveries... it took me a whole day to do the tallest rack with toothpaste. It was hard work and then I still ended going back over them with the silver polish)
• Second, some silver polish is ABSOLUTELY your best friend here.
• A washcloth for rubbing the polish on, a bucket of water to rinse, and a towel for drying and you are good to go.
• You will also want to wear rubber gloves. The first reason is that the polish can irritate your skin. The second reason is that the oils from your skin will cause future tarnish. Clean and handle your silver with gloves at all times if possible.
• Another helpful tip. An old toothbrush for those high detailed areas comes in very handy. I keep one stored under my sink just for this purpose!

Do you have any things you collect? I'd love to hear about them! How do you display them and keep them clean?

More Money For Better Quality- Flash Fiction

photo credit: Bounty Basic Paper Towels via photopin (license)

The Nightingale sat powered down in the bay of one of the richest trading hubs in the galaxy. All the top quality murch came through here. The loading bay area was filled with a dozen or so ships with their crews all rushing around to get their purchases loaded and ready for transport. Fine clothing, colorful packages, and glittering jeweled trunks added a kaleidoscope of color to the otherwise metallic gray of the loading bay. Fragrant spices, scintillating perfumes, and fresh flowers all filled the bay with their amazing aromas. At the bottom of the Nightingale’s ramp, however, sat an entire pallet of paper towels.

Craig, the Nightingale’s captain, carried each large package of paper towels up the ramp into his ship and set them down gently in the farthest corner of the cargo bay. His copilot stood at the bottom of the ramp shaking his head incredulously.

“Craig, man, just toss em in! We can organize them once we are in route to Jupiter station.”

“I paid half this week's credits for these! There’s no way I’m just tossing them in!”

“Why don’t you just let the forklift bring the whole pallet onboard instead of taking them one at a friggin time?”

“The wood from the pallet would just add to our weight!” Craig answered on his way back from bringing the last package onboard.

The two men stood beside the cargo door and simultaneously turned the wheels to raise the ramp.

The door hissed and sealed shut.

“But why paper towels? I just don’t get it! What’s so special about these paper towels? Paper towels come standard in the ration packs.” Craig’s copilot said.

“Jimmy, they’re for my old lady. Every month, before I head out, I ask her what she wants me to bring back. She could ask for anything, a necklace, a special perfume... but no- she asks for Bounty Basic paper towels.”

The two men headed back up the cargo bay, through a set of double doors and into the cockpit.

“Why these ones though?” Jimmy asked.

Craig took his seat and began flicking on the various switches on the dashboard.

“Engine’s reading fine, fuel’s at 480,” Jimmy read off the instrument panel dials while waiting for a response to his question.

“I leave her for a whole month at a time every other month. The least I can do is try to bring her what she wants when I come home. Apparently these paper towels work much better than the standard ration ones.” Craig answered with a sideways glance at Jimmy.

“What, do they, like, have cleaner embedded in them or something?” Jimmy asked while flicking some switches on his own side of the dash.

Craig chuckled. “All engines go. Signaling loading bay doors.”

“Nope, dude all they do is soak up more liquid. They are a bit more sturdy if you have to scrub something. That’s it.” Craig answered.

“Well, if it makes the wife happy.” Jimmy shrugged, “Who am I to disagree!”

This post is part of the 52 week flash fiction challenge on facebook
Week 2 word prompt: Basic
Word Limit: 20- 500
This one tops out right at 500 words.

Readers: What would YOU bring home, after being gone for a month, that would make your wife or husband happy?